Step lightly or you might get trapped.

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Visiting a "Big5" reserve should not always be about being on a game drive vehicle searching for iconic species. Often more interesting sightings are made while on foot when out on a guided walk, as was the case in this instance.

 

 

 

For more than 2 years I have been contributing back page articles to this magazine and I have also completed a couple of online courses with them.

A version of this article appeared in the magazine in December 2020.

 

 

 

With both the early morning drive as well as breakfast completed, I was asked if my wife and I would like to head out on a short walk to see the reserve from a different perspective. My answer was a qualified “YES” as it would be our final activity before taking the long road home.

After a safety briefing, we ventured out with not one but two armed trail guides keeping us company.

Unlike a game drive where there is often constant chatter, walks, for obvious reasons are conducted in silence unless the guide wants to show and explain what you are seeing…or in the case of this elusive arachnid, not seeing.

 

 

 

We had walked past a confusion of wildebeest and a dazzle of zebra, both groups watching our progress with a bored almost disdainful interest.

For those who are wondering about ‘confusion’ and ‘dazzle’, they are the collective nouns for those specific animals.

 

 

 

We had also stopped to chat about the uses of a variety of plant species as well as scattered dung that told tales of passing animals.

It was Dung Beetle season, and there were 100’s hard at work, collecting and defending the balls of dung that they were rolling off to bury.

 

 

 

“But what has ANY of this got to do with the word ‘trapped’ in the title”?

Scene setting, that’s what.

We were heading back to the vehicle when the lead guide raised a hand for us to stop…” Wait here” he said before walking off to collect a long grass stem. “There is a living creature very close to where you are standing,” said the remaining guide and it was at that moment that I spotted the almost invisible closed lid of the trapdoor, blending seamlessly into the surrounding vegetation on the forest floor.

 

 

 

Tentatively, using the grass stalk, the guide drew a beautiful male Trapdoor Spider out of its perfectly constructed nest. Unlike most spiders, this one does not construct a web but has a silk-lined burrow instead. It has tripwires that let the spider know when the prey has become entangled and it will then pop the lid, grab the prey, and vanish back into the burrow… all within the blink of an eye.

I am fearful of spiders, having been bitten by a Sac Spider many years ago and I still have scars to prove it, however, this specimen was spectacular.

The Trapdoor Spider was utterly beautiful and it looked as if it has been dipped in varnish, with the majority of the thorax and legs glossy and shiny.

Having latched onto the grass stalk with it large front jaws it was intent on engaging in a tug of war as if a meal was on the cards.

The spider is venomous, although scientists are uncertain what effect it has on humans. None of us were taking chances and once looked at, and photographed from many angles, we let it slip back into its burrow and closd the door behind it. Before leaving we made certain that we left the area undisturbed so as not to alert potential prey after we had departed.

It might not have been one of the larger dangerous game species, but it certainly was a learning opportunity me for and one which I gratefully accepted.

 

 

 

This duo of zebra seemed to be laughing at my fear of spiders, or perhaps one had just told a joke that the other was responding to…

Either way it was a great way to end of our stay and the walk that we had enjoyed and used as a learning experience.

 

 

 

If you want to do an online nature/hospitality course, this should be your go-to website. Click on the logo above to visit their website and enroll in the course of your dreams.

 

 

 

 

 

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